"Oh." Mu Qingyun nodded with understanding. It was only natural for a young boy to harbor dreams at a time like this. After all, her own younger brother once dreamed of becoming the kingdom's foremost strategist.
"Do you really want to train?" Su frowned, clearly troubled. He found this close-combat training utterly useless.
Once his water ability was activated, who could even get close to him?
"You have to prove yourself. If your ability is insufficient, you must find another way to protect yourself. Do you want to be called weak your whole life?" Mu Qingyun fixed him with a look full of both disappointment and tough love. Her gaze made him feel genuinely ashamed, as if he were utterly unworthy.
"My fault." Su sighed inwardly, rubbing his forehead as if trying to wake himself up.
"Let us go." Hearing this, Mu Qingyun lifted her chin slightly, motioning for him to follow her.
The two of them arrived, one after the other, at a deserted clearing behind a cave. The place was completely empty—a perfect spot for training.
"Turn off the live stream device." She was the first to switch off her device and told Su to do the same.
Martial arts were considered precious family secrets, rarely shared outside. Although her close-combat skills and internal energy techniques were learned from her master, now that they were here, she was certain her master would not blame her for teaching someone else.
[Oh no, please do not turn off the live stream! I want to watch this!]
[Mu Qingyun is like someone from ancient times—does she have some secret ancient martial arts technique that she is hiding from us?]
[Such selfishness! Does she really think we care so much that she must hide it? So annoying.]
[Exactly! Let us watch. Will we really steal some of her flesh?]
[Haha, I am curious to see how she trains that skinny weakling. What a precious skill, and she will not even show us a glimpse.]
[No, if she does not want us to see, we will not watch. Why are you all complaining here?]
[None of your business! I just want to curse. What does it matter to you? Do you live by the sea? Why do you care so much?]
[I wonder if Mu's haters even know how to write the phrase 'turning black into white.' They accuse us fans of having poor morals, yet look at their words—who really has twisted views?]
No matter how the chat room argued, Mu Qingyun and Su no longer noticed.
"First, squat horse stance."
Mu Qingyun eyed Su's thin frame with concern, frowning deeply. After thinking for a moment, she spoke softly, "Hold it for ten minutes."
Ten minutes?
Su raised an eyebrow, looking down on this suggestion. To him, squatting in horse stance for at least thirty minutes was the minimum.
"Is that not a bit—"
"Can you not even manage ten minutes?" Mu Qingyun stared at him gravely. "I know your body is weak, but to build endurance, you must endure a little."
"No," Su shook his head. "I meant ten minutes is too little."
Mu Qingyun: …
Clearly, this person had no sense of his own body.
"How long do you want?" she asked lazily, raising her eyes slightly.
Su smiled at her and gestured with his hand, "Thirty minutes minimum."
"Fine. If you say thirty minutes, then thirty minutes it is. Begin." Mu Qingyun was too lazy to argue and waved her hand casually, letting him start.
After all, she was nearby and could intervene if anything went wrong.
The sun was hidden behind clouds, a rare day of cool shade.
Mu Qingyun watched Su's expression shift—from boredom, to surprise, and finally to puzzlement. She did not expect him to hold out for so long.
"Have you trained before?" She took a plastic stick from her storage pouch, holding it firmly as her eyes sharpened.
"Yeah, as I told you, my father forced me to train in our family's secret martial arts, so horse stance was common." Su nodded, standing up obediently and patting his legs to soothe the ache creeping in.
Upon hearing this, Mu Qingyun made no further remarks. Gripping the plastic stick, she suddenly struck at Su with incredible speed.
Suppressing his ability, Su had no chance to defend. Mu Qingyun did not hold back—each strike left red marks on his body.
After a dozen blows, she finally stopped.
"Martial arts demand one thing above all: humility. Even if your skills are decent, you must never show disrespect to your teacher."
Disrespect?
What was disrespectful about merely saying ten minutes was too short?
"Your speech is so formal, it sounds like you came from ancient times." Su raised an eyebrow. Mu Qingyun often spoke with archaic phrasing, as if showing off literary skills—but the problem was, she had no formal education.
Yet her words hit a nerve. "Do not speak of ghosts, gods, or monsters. Do not utter nonsense."
"Oh, here we go again." Su chuckled lightly, seeing Mu Qingyun's face darken, and quickly straightened up. "Teacher, I was wrong."
"Being wrong is useless. Learn with heart." Mu Qingyun spun the plastic stick in her hand. "I will strike again with the same method. Your task is to dodge."
As soon as she finished speaking, the stick came down fast.
Dodge or not?
Su hesitated for a moment. Just as the stick was about to hit him, he twisted his body and barely avoided the blow.
"Good." Mu Qingyun felt pleased with such a quick learner, though his body was still fragile.
But the next moment, as the stick struck and Su gasped sharply in pain, she dismissed her earlier thoughts.
"Focus."
For the entire morning, Su went from barely dodging a single strike to evading every single one. He consciously controlled his reflexes, enduring dozens of blows.
Pain radiated through his body, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Coming here to watch them train had been a terrible decision. Would it not have been far better to lie comfortably on his leather sofa, sipping cocktails, watching television, and playing with his pet cat? Why had he sought out such suffering?
"Does it hurt?" Mu Qingyun asked lightly, looking at the swollen red marks on Su's skin.
"Yes." Su seized every chance to act pitiful, his voice soft and aggrieved. He even pulled his shirt up to reveal more bruised skin.
Seeing him in such misery, Mu Qingyun felt a flicker of sympathy. Perhaps she would stop forcing him to train after all.
But his hopeful fantasy was quickly shattered.
"Pain is only right." Mu Qingyun glanced lazily at him. "If you do not train properly, it will not be just a little pain next time."